


The Countess's Aide

by lirin



Category: Star Wars Legends: Hand of Thrawn Duology - Timothy Zahn, Star Wars Legends: Thrawn Trilogy - Timothy Zahn
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-04
Updated: 2017-05-04
Packaged: 2018-10-24 22:23:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10751001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lirin/pseuds/lirin
Summary: Luke Skywalker goes on an undercover mission using a thrown-together cover identity. Problems ensue.Actually, Luke’s not sure if he really considers this a problem.





	The Countess's Aide

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dreamiflame](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamiflame/gifts).



> This story takes place in the decade in between the Thrawn Trilogy and the Hand of Thrawn Duology.

Luke Skywalker tugged at his shirt, wondering if he could risk unfastening the collar. He’d only accepted this mission to get out of making an appearance at the Councilors’ Ball on Coruscant, so it was probably ironic that he was now going to an equally stuffy party in even worse clothes. On Coruscant, he could probably have just worn clean Jedi robes and looked acceptable, while here, Mara had stuffed him into a shiny synthene shirt that she’d gotten from who-knew-where. It was uncomfortable, and besides, loose-fitting clothes were better for fighting in—not that he would hopefully be doing any of that, especially since he’d had to leave his lightsaber behind.

“Problem?” Mara murmured as she walked beside him. She looked just as comfortable in her flowing evening gown as she did in one of the jumpsuits she wore for everyday. She could probably fight just as effectively in it, too.

“I don’t think this shirt you found fits right,” Luke said. 

“Of course it doesn’t,” Mara said. “It wouldn’t fit your cover identity’s character to have perfectly tailored clothing.”

“You’re just saying that because you didn’t have a fancy-dress shirt in my size,” Luke said. “This one barely reaches my waist, and the collar is too tight.”

“Try wearing a backless evening dress, and then we can talk,” Mara said.

Luke laughed. “In your dreams.” He offered her his arm.

Not taking it, Mara glared at him. “Who do you think you are?” she said with a sniff.

“Right,” Luke said. “My apologies, Countess.” He stepped away from her into a less compromising and more deferent position right as their host finally made his appearance.

“Countess Asicar, welcome,” Minister Brehit greeted Mara, raising her hand to his forehead in greeting. “And this is?”

“My aide, Sanchai,” Mara said. “Thank you for inviting me, Minister. When I learned that my travels would bring me to Meuria, I knew I had to time my journey around one of your parties. In all the worlds I’ve been to, I’ve never been to a party more entertaining than yours.”

“You honor me, Countess,” Brehit said. “Will you permit me?” He offered Mara his arm, and she took it with alacrity, cozying against the man’s side as if she belonged there. Together, they walked onto the terrace, while Luke trailed behind, trying to look deferential.

“Try not to get lost, Sanchai,” Mara called back as the minister led her off to where some of the other higher ranking guests were gathered. It was a clear command not to follow where he would be out of place. Luke watched her go, trying not to feel annoyed at how quickly she had abandoned him. After all, this was only a mission. It wasn’t as if Mara had chosen to go to a party with him just because she liked spending time with Jedi Knights. 

He supposed his cover identity would be feeling bored now that his employer had left him alone, so he wandered over to a table at the edge of the terrace and appropriated a glass of emerald wine. Alcoholic prop in hand, he found a balustrade to lean on and did his best to look uninterested in conversation. Others standing near the edge of the party—a blue female Twi’lek, a short male human, and a female human in a green gown—seemed equally bored, and he ignored them all. With his eyes on Mara and Minister Brehit, he reached out to the Force for what he could sense of their emotions.

He could immediately tell that Mara, despite her raptness and ebullience, was completely bored by the minister to whom she was still clinging. Unsurprising; the man wasn’t remotely worth Mara’s time. Next to her, the minister was enjoying himself but also a bit worried, which might be no more than the concern of organizing a large party and keeping it running smoothly. Luke looked further, to the crowd closest to Mara and the minister. The strongest feelings in the crowd were of fawning and obsequiousness, although a few seemed to be honestly enjoying themselves. Several people had feelings of suspicion and uncertainty, but that was to be expected in any gathering of guests from diverse backgrounds. He focused his attention to the Baroness directly behind Mara—

“Do you work for Countess Asicar?” 

Luke realized someone had asked him a question, and snapped back to reality. “Sorry, what?”

“Do you work for Countess Asicar?” His questioner was the young woman in green who had been standing nearby. She held a wine glass in her left hand, while her other hand fidgeted with her shoulder sculp. But despite her air of apathy, her eyes were piercing. Probably security backup for one of the guests, Luke thought.

“Yes, I’m Her Ladyship’s aide,” Luke said. “My name is Sanchai.”

“I’m Merilinda,” she replied. “Third secretary to Baron Nevrill.” She took a sip from her drink and looked at him curiously. “The Countess has never brought an aide with her before.”

“Yes, well, I only started working for Her Ladyship recently,” Luke said. “I don’t think she’s been to Meuria since I entered her employment.”

“No, I believe it’s been several years since her presence has graced one of Minister Brehit’s parties,” Merilinda said. “How long have you worked for her?”

“Less than a year working directly with Her Ladyship,” Luke said. “But I’ve had various roles on her staff for several years.”

“Were you on her staff when she lived at Vecrora?”

Luke wondered what would be the safest answer. “No.”

“Strange, that was only a couple years ago. What caused you to enter her service?”

“Lots of reasons,” Luke said. “Excuse me, I have to go refill my drink.”

She grabbed his wrist. “On my world, people take more than two sips from a drink before they decide it needs to be refilled. Isn’t it to your liking? Or is it my company that you object to?”

“Her Ladyship has warned me to watch out for people who ask too many questions about her,” Luke said. “She tells me that one never knows who’s listening.” He reached out to the Force to strengthen his next words. “I’m sure you don’t mean any harm, but it is my duty to Her Ladyship not to answer any questions about her affairs.” _I am harmless and uninteresting. So is Countess Asicar._

“Hmm.” Merilinda tipped her head, flirtatiously contemplative. “I’ll leave you alone then, Sanchai.” She spun on her heel and sashayed back to the corner where she had been standing before. 

Luke sipped at his wine—a half full glass would be less conspicuous, as she’d pointed out—and watched her. After a moment, she glanced his way and immediately met his gaze, smiling brazenly. Luke decided he’d better find somewhere else to stand. If Merilinda was, as he suspected, part of Nevrill’s security and not merely an assistant secretary, it would be better not to have anything to do with her. He crossed the terrace towards where Mara was standing at the opposite edge. She had moved on from feigning interest in Minister Brehit, Baron and Baroness Nevrill, and the rest, and was now giggling with a pair of young human women at the far corner of the terrace. Mara would know he was checking in in case she needed backup, and the rest would see it as the meanderings of a bored aide. And the move would take him as far as he could get from Merilinda.

“And he’s so thoughtful, and pretty too,” Mara was saying. As Luke neared them, she reached out and grabbed his shoulder. “Isn’t he just?” She seemed very drunk, although Luke was sure it was an act. Between Jedi toxin-neutralizing exercises and Mara’s old spy training, she could drink all night and still be only slightly tipsy if she wished.

“Let me help you, Your Ladyship,” Luke said, reaching out an arm to steady her as he would have if she had actually been drunk.

“Oh, thank you,” Mara said. With drunken familiarity, she wrapped her arms around his neck—and kissed him, full on the lips. 

_Play along_ , he thought suddenly. The thought was fully-formed enough that he knew it didn’t originate with himself. Unfortunately, the instruction was rather vague on what they were to be playing at. Luke slid his arms around Mara’s waist, hoping she would clue him in if that wasn’t what she wanted.

In return, Mara tightened her arms, drawing herself closer to him, and closed in for a second, more lingering, kiss.

“Ooh!” one of the girls giggled from behind them.

“Excuse us, Countess,” the other one said. “We’ll give you some privacy.” Luke was vaguely aware of them scurrying away, still giggling.

“They’ll have the news spread about in no time,” Mara murmured. She had leaned her head against his chest so that nobody on the terrace would be able to see her lips move.

Luke buried his head in her hair and murmured back, “What news? Have we gotten married and you forgot to tell me?”

Detaching one of her hands from his neck, she ran it through his hair, whispering in his ear, “You’re now Countess Asicar’s highly unsuitable lover. I overheard Baroness Nevrill expressing suspicion that I would bring staff with me for the first time, and wondering if you were blackmailing me to obtain entrance to the party. We needed to give them another explanation to buy time and hopefully stop her from wondering if you look familiar.”

“And this is the best explanation you could come up with?” Luke murmured. 

“Are you complaining?” Mara whispered, then silenced any reply he might have had with another kiss.

“The Baroness isn’t the only one curious about us,” Luke murmured when she drew away for breath. “Her husband’s supposed secretary was asking too many questions. Green dress, pinned-up hair, watchful brown eyes, probably by the drinks table.”

“I see her,” Mara said. “Put my back to the party, I don’t want her to notice what I’m doing.”

Luke leaned in for another kiss, and with his arms around Mara’s shoulders, turned them so his back was against the balustrade. Mara’s hands had dropped to his waist, and he suddenly realized that he no longer particularly minded his shirt’s tendency to ride up. In return, he ran his hands down her back. Now facing the rest of the terrace, he could see that they were attracting quite a bit of attention. Not wanting to risk eye contact with anyone, he lowered his forehead against Mara’s so that he could scarcely see anyone else. “Have you noticed we’re the most interesting thing going on?” he whispered.

“Countess Asicar is always the most interesting thing going on,” she replied. “Don’t touch your waistband, I put the datacard there.” She broke off to kiss him, then continued, “Asicar’s gotten falling-down drunk at every single one of Brehit’s parties…though she’s never done anything quite this scandalous before.” She leaned into Luke, pressing him against the balustrade. “This is so much nicer than the time I had to kiss a Hutt for information.”

“I’m flattered,” Luke said. “Ready to go?”

“Any time.”

Luke straightened up as much as he could with Mara still draped all over him, and said firmly, “Let me get you to your quarters, Your Ladyship. You’re drunk and should be in bed.”

“That’s right, always trying to get me into bed,” she said in a tone that carried quite clearly, judging by the muffled snickers around them. “You might at least buy a lady a drink first.”

“Please, Your Ladyship.”

“Have to bid Brehit goodnight first,” she mumbled. “Kriffin’ good party.” She lurched away from him, and nearly fell. 

Diving after her, Luke grabbed her firmly around the waist and pulled her back to lean on him. “Nice and easy, Your Ladyship. You can say goodnight to His Excellency Minister Brehit, and then we’ll get you back to your quarters. Just lean on me.” He guided her arm around his shoulders, and led her across the terrace, ignoring the stares and laughter of the guests they passed.

Minister Brehit stepped forward as they approached, smiling frigidly. “My dear Countess.” He bowed and kissed her hand. Mara giggled. “One can always count on you to liven up a party,” he said. “Thank you for coming. I’ll be in touch when you’ve sobered up.”

“Thank you, Minister,” Mara simpered. “It was a pleasure.” With Luke guiding her, she stumbled the rest of the way across the terrace and out, at last, from the party.

* * *

With Countess Asicar supposedly nursing a terrible hangover, it wouldn’t have fit appearances for them to make an early start the next morning. By the time they finally sped up to the spaceport, it was near mid-day, and the main entrance was thronged with travelers. But Luke knew what to look for, and despite the crowd, he spotted Merilinda immediately, lurking in a doorway. Still playing the devoted aide assisting his impaired employer, Luke stopped their rented speeder short of the main entrance and bribed a guard to let them in through a side door. Even though he was certain they had evaded Merilinda with this maneuver, there was no way to know what other spies the Nevrills might have, so he remained in character even once they reached the ship, inserting “Yes, Your Ladyship”s in between equipment checks. But nobody approached the ship, and they were able to take off in peace.

But once they were off planet, he still didn’t know where to begin. ‘That was nice’? Or conversely, ‘Thank goodness that’s over with’? He doubted Mara would react well to either.

Next to him, Mara leaned back in the co-pilot’s chair. “Well, that’s that cover blown,” she said. “Brehit seemed to be considering blackmailing me over this incident, so I’m sure he’ll be looking into the Countess’s antecedents—and finding that there aren’t any for him to find. And Nevrill will probably suspect I had something to do with his datacard going missing. It’s too bad. I spent a lot of time putting that identity together.”

“Of all the ways you could blow your cover, this was one of the more enjoyable, right?” Luke said.

Mara laughed. “Nice try, farm boy.”

“It was in the top half, at least, wasn’t it?”

“Fine, it was better than the time I had to kiss that Hutt,” she said. “Happy now?”

Luke smirked. “It’s better than nothing.” He turned back to the controls.

Mara stretched, then got up from the chair. “You all right on your own up here while I get changed?”

“Fine,” Luke said, checking the data from the hyperdrive motivator. He waited until Mara had left the cabin and was closing the door behind her, then called after her, “Don’t worry, you were nicer to kiss than a Hutt too!”


End file.
